Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's La Liga showdown between Alaves and Barcelona at the Estadio de Mendizorroza!

The end of the campaign is in sight now and surprise package Alaves still have the prospect of European football to fight for, although to achieve that they will need to end a run of form which has seen them fail to win any of their last five games. Barcelona, by contrast, would move to the brink of another La Liga title should they win tonight and could have it sewn up by tomorrow night should they win and Atletico then lose to Valencia.

Kickoff is only five minutes away, so let's have a look at the team news before we get started...

Dembele goes weaving past one challenge to reach the edge of the box, but he ends up trying a bit too much and is dispossessed before he can get a shot away. Barca have taken early control of the possession here.

CHANCE! It really should be 1-0 to Barcelona here! Alaves give the ball straight to Coutinho, who quickly releases Suarez through on goal. Suarez only has the keeper to beat but is forced onto his left foot and is denied by Pacheco before Coutinho's follow-up effort is blocked by Ely.

CHANCE! Another big chance for the visitors in these opening exchanges as this time Coutinho is released in behind before pulling the ball back for Suarez. This time Suarez goes for goal first time, but Ely is in the way once again to make the block.

It is all Barcelona in these early stages. Alaves have barely been able to string three or four passes together and it is one-way traffic so far. Barcelona have made 94 passes so far, whereas Alaves have attempted 18 and completed just five.

Another lovely move from Barcelona as Alena threads a pass inside the full-back for the overlapping Roberto, whose low cross is left by Suarez for Coutinho. The midfielder tries to beat one defender inside the box, but is tackled before he can get a shot away.

More nice football from Barcelona with Vidal, Alena and Roberto all involved, but once again it is the final ball which lets them down. The visitors are still knocking on the door, but Alaves are soaking up the pressure at the moment.

It is very patient football from Barcelona at the moment. They are seeing all of the ball, and the vast majority of it is coming inside the Alaves half too, but they cannot find their way through right now.

Abelardo will be pretty pleased with how his side are coping with Barcelona's pressure right now, particularly following the opening 10 minutes when the visitors got in behind twice. The hosts need to do more going forward, though.

SAVE! Barcelona settle for a shot from range on this occasion as Coutinho cuts into his right foot and tries one of his trademark strikes, but he doesn't connect with it properly and it is an easy save for the keeper in the end.

CHANCE! The resulting corner eventually leads to a half-chance for Vidal, but he cannot get over the ball and sends his header well off target when he might have been better served leaving it for Pique behind him.

Barcelona should have enough to see them past Alaves tonight even without Lionel Messi, but it is clear that his individual genius is missing from this one so far. It may be what Barcelona need to unlock this defence.

CHANCE! This is the danger for Barcelona if they can't take advantage of their dominance! Alaves win a free kick in a crossing position and Ely climbs highest to meet it, but can only nod his effort over the crossbar.

The first half comes to an end at the Estadio de Mendizorroza, then, and it has not exactly been a classic so far.

Alaves and Barcelona remain goalless, with the visitors enjoying 77% possession but failing to make the breakthrough yet. Barca's best moments came in the opening 10 minutes, but since then they have struggled to break down the Alaves defence.

Alaves have offered very little going forward themselves, but they did fire a warning to Barca towards the end of the first half when Ely rose highest inside the area to nod a free kick over the crossbar.

As long as the scoreline remains 0-0 the hosts are very much in this game and it only takes one set piece or one chance for them to set up a shock against the champions-elect.

Alaves have a great chance to break from that corner, but Borja slows it down too much before giving it out wide to Jony, who gets his cross all wrong. Waste of a really good attacking platform for Alaves there.

Roberto plays a one-two on his way in from the right flank before feeding a pass into the box. Suarez cleverly dummies it to let it run through to Alena, who makes no mistake to tuck his finish into the bottom corner.

DISALLOWED GOAL! Barcelona have the ball in the back of the net as a mixture of Pique and Umtiti put it in from point-blank range after a brief scramble. The offside flag is raised, but this one will go to VAR. The replay seems to show a handball in there, which would mean a penalty, before Umtiti is offside.

OFF THE POST! Messi almost provides his customary bit of magic, skipping away from one marker before driving into the box and working space to shoot despite momentarily getting the ball caught under his feet. His strike towards the near post is tipped against the post by the keeper.

CHANCE! Half a chance for Alaves to pull a goal back as Jony's long throw is flicked on into a dangerous area. Brasanac reacts quickest to get to the ball, but his shot on the half-volley rises well over the crossbar.

Just over 15 minutes remaining in this one now and it is hard to see Barcelona throwing it away from here. Alaves have offered very little in attack tonight and can have no complaints at coming away with nothing.

CLOSE! Just as I say that, the hosts almost pull a goal back! Jony collects a loose Vidal pass before dribbling the ball towards goal and taking a shot early which drifts narrowly wide with Ter Stegen beaten.

CHANCE! Barcelona break straight up the other end and create a chance of their own as Messi funds Suarez, who stands the ball up to the far post. Vidal rises above his marker, but cannot keep his header down.

Alaves are beginning to see a bit more of the ball in the final 15 minutes, but Barcelona seem content with that. The three points should be in the bag now, meaning that the champions could retain their title as early as tomorrow.

By no means a classic win for Barcelona nor a vintage performance, but they barely had to get out of second gear to move to the brink of an eighth La Liga title in the last 11 years.

Goals from Carles Alena and Luis Suarez were enough for Barcelona to beat Alaves this evening, and if Atletico Madrid lose to Valencia tomorrow then the title is Barca's - if not then a home win against Levante on Saturday will wrap it up for Valverde's side.

Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's La Liga contest as Barcelona move to within one result of the La Liga title courtesy of victory over Alaves. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.